The horse has left the barn. Establishment of the child support system in every state is mandated under Title IV(D) of the Social security Act. States can have their own laws but have to adopt certain foundational principles in order to get federal funding to operate the system. This addresses the “no retroactive support” rule—- you can’t get support effective any earlier than the date court papers are filed. A better approach would be to allow retroactive establishment back to the date of conception, but filed within a certain short time after baby is born alive and paternity established
Someone explain why NY and Mississippi have child support til age 21? Ridiculous.